Duke basketball holds off Tennessee. What we learned in Blue Devils’ exhibition win
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Duke rallied late, Boozer delivered 24 points, 23 rebounds and six assists.
- Duke shot 25 of 27 from foul line and had only seven turnovers.
- Coaching staff identified defensive lapses, interior defense and fouling issues.
There were 39 NBA scouts from 22 teams packed into Tennessee’s Thompson-Boling Arena on Sunday to see the Vols play Duke in an exhibition basketball game.
And to see Duke’s Cameron Boozer.
The freshman, a big man again playing very big, had 24 points and 23 rebounds to go with six assists as the Blue Devils surged in the second half for an 83-76 victory in their final exhibition warmup act.
The Blue Devils, ranked No. 6 in the AP Top 25 preseason poll, got 22 points from Isaiah Evans — 16 in the second half — and a solid 15-point, nine-rebound game from sophomore center Patrick Ngongba II.
“I thought Isaiah really hit some timely shots and then Cam was a force, an absolute force, throughout the whole game,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said on the Blue Devils’ radio network.
Boozer had everyone raving about his skill and power after the freshman’s 33-point, 12-rebound performance in a 25-point win over Central Florida in the Devils’ first exhibition. He backed it before a sellout crowd tinged with Tennessee orange, going 7-for-20 from the field and making nine of 11 free throws.
“He carried us the whole way, his competitive spirit,” Scheyer said in his post-game press conference.
So much for the preseason exhibition part of the Duke basketball schedule. Next time out, it’s for real as the Blue Devils face Texas on Nov. 4 in the Dick Vitale Invitational in Charlotte.
Against UCF, the Blue Devils broke open a close game in the second half and bolted to a 96-71 victory. But that was at Cameron Indoor Stadium, before a boisterous home crowd.
The Vols, ranked No. 18, led nearly the entire first half Sunday, held a nine-point lead just before halftime and had a 43-37 cushion at the break. Their physical, aggressive defense — a staple under Tennessee coach Rick Barnes — forced the Devils into some rushed or bad shots and kept the Vols in front despite Boozer’s 13 points and 15 rebounds.
But the Devils, again, settled in during the second half. Evans opened the half with a 3, Ngongba had a dunk and Duke took its first lead on another Evans 3.
A jumper by the Vols’ Nate Ament, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, trimmed the Duke lead to 75-72 with 2:59 left. But Duke’s Nikolas Khamenia made a couple of free throws and Ngongba had a key defensive rebound and blocked an Ament shot late.
A dunk by senior guard Ja’Kobi Gillespie, who finished with 19 points and eight assists, again made it a three-point game with 37 seconds remaining. Duke’s Caleb Foster then knocked down two more foul shots.
Duke was 10-of-27 from 3-point range — Evans making four 3s — but hit 25 of 27 free throws and had just seven turnovers. In contrast, the Vols scored two baskets in the final 10 minutes of the game.
“We treated this as a fact-finding mission,” Scheyer said. “It was let’s learn about our team, let’s grow in a hostile environment against a really good opponent. I think we did that.”
What was learned about Duke in the exhibition win?
Devils got better on defense
Duke, again playing without injured forward Maliq Brown, showed late-game toughness to lock down the victory after a first half when, Scheyer said, the Devils were “all over the place” on defense.
The Blue Devils’ interior defense came off too soft against in the opening half. Ngongba picked up two early fouls and took a seat. And when the 6-11 sophomore returned later in the first half, he was called for a reaching foul some 30 feet from the basket. It was back to the bench again.
“Once Pat got fouls in the first half, we don’t have replacements,” Scheyer said in postgame press conference.
On one Tennessee play, Ament glided around Cameron Boozer and down the baseline for a dunk. Boozer was caught flat-footed a few times defending the ball but was not kept off the defensive boards -- Duke had a 48-39 rebounding edge in the game.
“In the first half we were playing on our heels,” Scheyer said. “In the second half, I thought we did a great job of having great physicality in the paint. Pat, whether he blocked shots or not, did a great job of protecting for us. And as a team, we just played really hard.
“It was a great lesson for us, that we can build off our defense and the offense will come.”
Brown, who did not play against UCF, again was not available as the senior continues to recover from a knee procedure that has limited him in Duke’s preseason practices. Brown could play in the season opener against Texas.
Game should benefit Devils and Vols
Barnes, beginning his 11th season at Tennessee, was asked during the ESPN broadcast about the value of playing such an exhibition game as opposed to, say, a closed-door exhibition.
Barnes said what all college basketball fans like to hear– both teams should benefit from the tough competition of such a game. Barnes also thanked Scheyer on the broadcast for agreeing to play the game on the road.
Scheyer, in turn, liked the fact his team would have their first flight together, first hotel stay, first game on another team’s homecourt before a sellout crowd of more than 21,000.
“This is everything I could have asked for and more for our team,” Scheyer said.
It can be an adrenaline rush hearing the home crowd — the Cameron Crazies — cheering you on and was for the Blue Devils in the UCF exhibition. It’s more of a strain on the road and was Sunday as the Vols applied game pressure in the final minutes.
“I think we showed great composure, great competitiveness,” Scheyer said.
Duke’s Sarr sees first action
While the Blue Devils’ Brown sat out the second exhibition, freshman Dame Sarr was available Sunday and was a nice lineup addition. The forward, who had been hampered by an oblique injury and missed the UCF game, had a dunk and a 3-pointer in the opening half as he got his first look in a game, albeit an exhibition.
The native Italian, rated a 5-star recruit, was playing for FC Barcelona in the Spanish league and Scheyer has noted how competitive the basketball is in that overseas league. Sarr is a slender 6-8 but has elite quickness and some pro-basketball savvy.
Sarr did appear to tire a bit midway through the second half during his first experience at game speed.
This story was originally published October 26, 2025 at 10:02 PM.
